DEVELOPMENT OF A PARTICLE TRACKING VELOCIMETRY SYSTEM FOR THE LAGRANGIAN CHARACTERIZATION OF FLUID FLOWS

Abstract

In this paper we present the development and characterization of a velocimetry system based on individual
particle tracking, specially designed for the lagrangian description of fluid flows. This system is based on
the joint use of two high-speed cameras which synchronically observe a common region on the flow under
study. We describe in detail the joint calibration procedure of the system, as well as the processing of
individual images for calculating particle trajectories in three-dimensional space. Lastly, results are shown
concerning the application of this measuring system to the dynamics of buoyant particle clustering on the
free surface of a turbulent wave field.